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Skills needed to tackle a changing infrastructure career

28 May 2015

As recruiters, we speak to many infrastructure candidates and clients on a daily basis, and the topic of conversation that is most prevalent is the future of IT infrastructure. Where is it heading and should we be concerned? With technology changing so quickly, it can be difficult to keep up and it’s natural to feel anxious about what might come next.

We are seeing a sea change in the infrastructure environment and in the not-so-distant future the physical side of technology will surely be redundant. History tells us this is more certainty than possibility.

However, while infrastructure engineers may be concerned about the future of their profession, this is actually a change we should all embrace.

It is rare these days to find organisations that have not virtualised most of their server environment, and the continued progression to the Cloud is the norm for businesses around the world. As Cloud platforms like AWS and Azure become increasingly prevalent, it’s important that infrastructure professionals embrace these technologies and the role they will play moving forward.

Candidates will always ask about the importance of certifications, and it is more important than ever to upskill and adapt to this rapidly evolving environment. By having a firm hand on which IT infrastructure needs to be managed and provisioned, candidates should accelerate skill development and build an understanding of complex and dynamic infrastructure projects.

If you do not adapt, you will be left behind.

On a macro level, technology has seen a huge upwards surge in organisational respect and relevance from the broader internal environment, an attitude change that has been a long time coming. Organisations’ competitive advantage now rests on the efficiencies and effectiveness of their technology – and people are starting to wake up to this. It is a perfect time to be in technology and a perfect time to embrace the Cloud.

Apart from embracing new technology and the changes that come with it, a career in infrastructure and support might fit you well if you:

Enjoy working with others on projects

Can work to solve problems with practical and technical solutions

Have organised and detail-oriented working habits

Can translate complicated instructions into user-friendly, easy-to-understand language and advice

So as a job seeker or as an employee, ask this question: what are you doing to make yourself uniquely valuable? Are you going to be left behind in this heavily saturated candidate market, or will you embrace the change and sit proud above the rest while your counterparts dwindle in the past?